Mignon du Preez was on fire as she spurred the Melbourne Stars to a last-over win against the Hobart Hurricanes in the Women’s Big Bash League on Saturday.
Proteas veteran batter Mignon du Preez scored an undefeated 59 off 38 balls (3×4, 3×6, S/R 155.26) as she guided the Melbourne Stars to victory with just one ball to spare against the Hobart Hurricanes. Du Preez and Erin Osborne shared a fifth-wicket stand of 126 after their top order failed, to leave the Stars on 23-4 off six overs. Lizelle Lee had struggled to get going at the top of the order, scoring just two runs off 12 balls before she was stumped.
Osborne had been superb with the ball earlier, taking 1-20 (econ 5.00) to restrict the Hurricanes to 158-6 off their 20 overs, Heather Knight scoring an incredible 82 off 55 balls (9×4, 3×6, S/R 149.09). The Stars moved to the top of the log with two wins from two.
Hobart Hurricanes Women 158-6
Melbourne Stars Women 159-5 (19.5 overs)
Melbourne Stars won by 5 wickets, with 1 ball in hand
A sensational end to the Strikers-Renegades match saw Claire Koski hit Sophie Devine for four off the last ball of the match as the Renegades sneaked past the Strikers’ target after a hard-fought battle.
Koski ended on 39 off 30 balls alongside Erica Kershaw on 30 off 27 balls, after Danielle Wyatt’s 62 off 47 balls (8×4, 1×6, S/R 131.91) had set up the innings nicely. Amanda-Jade Wellington took 3-27 (econ 6.75), while Tahlia McGrath kept things tight with her figures of 1-17 (econ 4.25) as the Strikers did their best to hold the Renegades at bay.
Earlier Suzie Bates had top-scored for the Strikers with 54 off 44 balls (8×4, S/R 122.72), with Georgia Wareham the pick of the bowlers, taking 2-20 (econ 5.00) in the innings.
Adelaide Strikers Women 153-7
Melbourne Renegades Women 154-4
Melbourne Renegades won by 6 wickets off the last ball
Sune Luus’ Brisbane Heat strolled to an easy win over the Perth Scorchers after restricting them to 103-8 off their 20 overs. Elyse Villani top-scored with 45 off 55 balls (5×4) and Sammy-Jo Johnson took 2-9 off her four overs at a stunning economy rate of 2.25.
In response, Beth Mooney (25 not out), Kirby Short (27) and Jess Jonassen (28 not out) helped the Heat to race to their victory target of 104 off just 12.5 overs.
Perth Scorchers Women 103-8
Brisbane Heat Women 104-3 (12.5 overs)
Brisbane Heat won by 7 wickets, with 43 balls in hand
The Sydney Sixers put a challenging total on the board as they leap-frogged their Sydney Thunders neighbours into a share of top spot on the Big Bash log, albeit having played an extra match.
Ellyse Perry (74 off 66, 8×4, 2×6) and Erin Burns (44 off 22 balls, 6×4, 2×6, S/R 200.00) got the Sixers off to a good start, and at the bottom of the innings Dane van Niekerk added a rapid-fire undefeated 14 off seven balls (1×4, 1×6, S/R 200.00) as their team posted 168-4 off their 20 overs. Stafanie Taylor was good value with the ball, taking 2-16 off her three overs (econ 5.33).
The Thunder failed to settle with the bat, losing their first four wickets for 35 runs in eight overs before Harmanpreet Kaur (45 off 28 balls, 4×4, 3×6, S/R 160.71) took control, seeing her team through to 93 before she became the sixth wicket to fall. Rene Farrell added a brave 33 off 20 balls (4×4, 1×6, S/R 165.00), but could not prevent her side from losing by 36 runs.
Perry took 2-11 (econ 3.66) and Lauren Cheatle 2-15 (econ 5.00) as the Sixers went joint top of the table with the Melbourne Stars.
Sydney Sixers Women 168-4
Sydney Thunder Women 82-4 (13.3 overs)
Sydney Sixers won by 36 runs
Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
